San Jacinto County News - Breakout

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TWC Commissioner Julian Alvarez with COCISD administrators and local officials including State Representative Ernest Bailes, Coldspring Mayor John Benestante, and Coldspring Chamber of Commerce President Barbara Justice celebrated the award of the TWC JET Grant to the COHS CTE program on Wednesday, Oct. 19. COURTESY PHOTO

Special to the News-Times

COLDSPRING — Texas Workforce Commissioner Julian Alvarez visited Coldspring-Oakhurst High School for a reception to officially award the Coldspring-Oakhurst High School CTE Department a Jobs and Education for Texans Grant on Oct. 19.

The grant award of more than $189,000 funded equipment and instructional materials for the high school welding program for the 2022-23 school year and beyond.

The grant application was submitted by CTE and Special Programs Director Jeff Eichman.

“Coldspring-Oakhurst CISD was very fortunate to have been awarded as one of the Texas Workforce Commission  2021-2022 Jobs & Education for Texans (JET) grant recipients,” Eichman said. “The district submitted the JET Grant application in the spring of the 2020-2021 school year, written for the request of 14 Clean Air America Weldstation booths, 14 new Miller Multi-process welding machines, as well as other supporting instructional resources for the newly established Welding Program of Study at Coldspring-Oakhurst High School.

“The goal of the grant application was to prepare a minimum of 79 welding students for post-secondary opportunities, as well as the opportunity to earn industry-recognized welding certifications,” he said.

Eichman said the district was notified as a grant recipient in early September 2021 for the awarded amount of $189,316.

The district is waiting to hear news on whether its latest JET Grant application for the high school nursing program will be awarded. The winners will be announced in the next few months.

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Shepherd High School Principles of Health Science students toured the health science programs at Angelina College recently to learn about the vast array of healthcare careers that are available to them. They are led by Sarah Dean, RN. Courtesy photo

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Dr. Stanley Kelly of Sam Houston State University explained to students how the muscle blade sits inside of the cow and what cuts of beef come from each area. Due to the muscles in the front shoulder being used often, the muscles in the shoulder are tough and should be cooked low and slow in order to become tender and palatable. Photo courtesy of Ashlie Taylor

Special to the News-Times

WINNIE — Coldspring-Oakhurst High School students were treated to extensive lessons on cattle, from children to grilling.

Advanced Animal Science students and sponsors traveled to Winnie, on Oct. 27 to attend the Southeast Texas Beef Symposium hosted by Texas AgriLife Extension with the assistance of professors from the Texas A&M and Sam Houston State University Agriculture Science departments. 

Students spent the day attending hands-on sessions including an anatomy and physiology dissection lab, a blood draw for pregnancy checks on cows, performing ultrasounds on cattle for carcass traits and fat thickness, taste testing tenderness of different cuts of meat, identifying parts of cattle including where their bones are located and where each cut of meat comes from, and digestion featuring a cannulated cow. 

“Cannulated cattle are those which have a surgically placed cannula, or porthole-like device placed in their side into the rumen,” explained COHS Ag Instructor Ashlie Taylor. “This allows veterinarians and researchers to examine content digested by the animal for various purposes.”

The afternoon concluded with a lesson on safe food handling and proper cooking temperatures, followed by students being allowed to season and grill their own hamburgers. 

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On Oct. 18, Shepherd Middle School invited parents and guests to come to a Fall Family Night. Every student that was in attendance received a ticket for a prize. Several students won games, books, and even a camera! We appreciate everyone that was able to come out and join us. Courtesy photo